The proposed project involves a sociological survey of 400 elderly persons (age sixty-five and older) in the Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia metropolitan area. The objective of the project is to compare the family and friendship patterns of these randomly selected older people, and to determine what effect these forms of interpersonal involvement will have upon their satisfaction with life or personal morale. Will family and friends make equally good companions for the older person? Will an uneven flow of assistance (e.g. financial aid and personal services)--whereby the aged parent comes to depend upon the adult child--preclude the establishment of satisfying interpersonal relationships? How will such factors as income, health, marital status, residential setting, age, and race condition the older person's relationship with family and friends? The survey will be administered by trained student interviewers and will take place in the home of the respondent. Older people living with adult children or other relatives, or in nursing care facilities will be excluded from the sample. The results of the study will be coded onto data cards and will be analyzed with the use of a computer.